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UNITED STATES AIIJNT F F ICE.

CHARLES H. MYERS, OF PHELPS, NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF COLORING A ND FINlSHING PICTURES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,051, dated April 25, 1882.

(No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, CHARLES H. MYERS, of Phelps, in the county ofOntario, and Ill the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the. Process of Coloring and Finishing Pictures; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

' This invention relates to certain improvements in painting or eoloiingpictures such as engravings, lithographs, photographs, and the likeand it is principally designed toprovide an improved means for coloring portraits; and it has for its objects to more closely imitate nature, and at less expense than the ordinary oil-paintings.

It is well known that the coloring-matter of the human countenance and other parts ofthe body does not lie in the cuticle or outer skin, which is semi-transparent, but merely shows through it.

The object of my invention in the production of pictures is to follow nature as closely as possible by rendering the paper upon which a picture is printed or photographed semitransparent, and applying or painting on the colors at the back, then mounting the picture on a suitable backing, and finally finishing it, when required, upon the surface, as more fully hereinafter specified.

Iucarrying out my intention I prepare a compound ofthefollowing ingredients, in about the proportions named, viz: sugar of lead, one and one-fourth ounce; spirits of turpentine,one quart; Canada balsam, one pound.

The sugar of lead is finely pulverized, and the turpentine is poured upon it, and the mixture allowed to stand for two days. The turpentine is then poured off, and the Canada balsam is added to it and dissolved ata gentle heat, the mixture beingfrequentlystirred during the operation.

The paper on which the picture is produced is saturated with this compound by brushing iton or otherwise, and after it has become dry the paper will be semi-transparent and ready for coloring, which is applied at the back, oilcolors being preferably used. When the colors have become thoroughly dry-the back of tlie picture is cemented to a backing of card-board, canvas, or other suitable material, and the wholesubjected to powerful pressure, by which the picture and hacking are securely united. The surface of the picture is then finished by touching it up as required.

I am aware that pictures have been prepared by rendering the paper transparent by means of a suitable varnish and painting on the back thereof, and also that such pictures have been pasted upon a backing of thicker paper; but this I do not claim broadly, my invention consist-ing, in con nection with the, above-mentioned steps, of the successive steps following, viz: the backing under greatpressure, by means of which the picture becomes a component part of the backing, giving the whole an almost perfect resemblance, and touching or finishing the surface in colors to heighten the whole effeet.

The sugar of lead, which is one of the ingredients of my compound, is an essential element thereof, for without it that natural appearance, which is the sole object of my invention, cannot be given to the pictures.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The process of coloring and finishing pictures, consisting, first, in rendering the paper upon which they are painted or photographed semi-transparent by treating the paper to a 'compound of the following ingredients: sugar CHARLES H. MYERS.

Witnesses:

J. J. MCCARTHY, WM. H. FINCH. 

